The Southern Book Clubs Guide to Slaying Vampires

Left a bad taste in my mouth, which is a shame considering how strong the start is

Ein Buch, das albern beginnt und sehr schnell sehr ernst wird. Am Ende wurde mir die durchgehende Manipulation, die Pädoszene, die Vergewaltigungen und der Gore ehrlich gesagt zuviel. Ich mag, wie das Buch Rassismus und Sexismus thematisierte, um den Siegeszug des Vampirs besser zu erklären - es sind die weißen Männer, die von Anfang bis Ende begeistert von ihm bleiben. Sehr gut und durchdringend geschrieben. Ich liebe die Frauen dieser Story, v.a. Miss Mary und Mrs. Greene, aber auch die Hauptperson Patricia, die wegen ihrer Beharrlichkeit fast in den Selbstmord getrieben wird.

huge huge tw/cw: rape/ sexual assault, child abuse, gaslighting, domestic abuse, animal death, Nazism, dementia, and probably a few others I'm forgetting because geez this book nearly had it all.

Couldn't put this book down, for better or for worse. The pacing of the story was excellent and had me on my toes, but it's 2021 and (even for a book set in the 90s), I want better portrayals of the friendships between women please.

Nach einem gelungenen Start dieses Buches, das sich über weite Strecken wie eine Mischung aus Dracula und Desperate Housewives ließt, bin ich mit der zweiten Hälfte doch ein wenig enttäuscht und hätte mir an einigen Punkten ausführlichere und logischere Erklärungen (ja, auch Horror und Übernatürliches sollte meiner Meinung nach in sich logisch und stimmig sein) gewünscht. Deshalb ein Stern Abzug für diesen unterhaltsamen und humorvollen Horrorroman. Ich werde sicher bei Gelegenheit ein weiteres Werk des Autors testen.

It seems like from other reviews people didn't really like this, or at least not as much as the author's other books. Having never read anything by this author before, I didn't have any expectations and enjoyed this. I found it very readable, compelling, and suspenseful. I kind of wish the reader didn't know James was a vampire along with Patty and the others because it was a little frustrating to know more than the characters did. Overall though I liked this and am glad it got recommended into my feed (somehow).

I really enjoyed this book. The author tells the story of a book club made up of a bunch of Southern Ladies who read true crime and suddenly have to deal with children missing in their own neighborhood.

I loved the way the book was split into parts named by which book the book club was reading at the time and how those titles gave a certain ambiance to the chapters within. Even the slower paced build-up chapters had a lot going on that added texture and personality to the characters that just added when the events that were being built up to finally came to pass.

Really well paced, and really well told overall.

This vampire story for the gaslighting age definitely has imaginatively frightening moments with plenty of descriptive tension, but unfortunately its plot and pacing lack serious bite.